How does multilingualism affect thinking and behavior? Recent findings demonstrate that multilingualism influences executive functioning, as well as personality traits and dimensions. Concordant outcomes show that multilingual individuals are more likely to be successful at inhibiting certain types of conduct (e.g., impulsivity) than monolinguals.…

This article describes a pedagogical initiative that identifies opportunities for increased efficiency and functionality in the teaching and learning of Spanish in the context of the United States. At the core of this initiative is the reformulation of curricular and programmatic approaches in terms of current social, cultural, and linguistic…

This article focuses on minority languages in education in Europe in contexts where they are in contact with national state languages and English. Teaching minority language implies bilingual education because it is not about replacing the majority language, but to come 'alongside' or at 'equal footing'. The cases of Basque and Frisian, comparing…

This article contributes to the study of language maintenance as an everyday activity in binational-bilingual families. By embedding the question of language maintenance into a language socialization framework and adopting a conversation-analytic approach to language alternation, three excerpts of mealtime interactions in Russian-French speaking…

Language shift is the process whereby one language becomes increasingly lesser used in place of the use of another language. In Scotland, language shift is occurring for Gaelic, as English takes its place for a variety of functions in the home and wider community. Extensive literature has argued the important role that education can play in the…

Among American Indian Pueblo tribes, community-based language revitalisation initiatives have been established in response to a growing language shift towards English. This has been most prominent among school age children, prompting some tribes to extend tribal language programmes into local public schools. For centuries, the transmission of…

This paper states the position of the National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NCSSFL) in regard to bilingual education. The Council feels that the ethnic languages and cultures of the people living in the United States should be preserved in order to strengthen and enrich the total American society. It therefore favors…

This digest focuses on teaching Spanish to native or Hispanic heritage language students in the United States. Heritage language students are students who speak another language (in this case Spanish) as their first language either because they were born in another country or because their families speak another language at home. The entrance of…

Explains how bilingual education programs and monolingual institutions with remedial English as a Second Language programs share the goal of acculturation. Describes resistance and opposition to bilingual education, as well as its goals, advantages, approaches, teachers, and problems. (SB)

This article discusses the varieties of bilingualism, types of bilingual programs, goals and program implementation, measurement and evaluation of bilingual/bicultural programs, teacher preparation, the impact of the ESEA Title VII Bilingual Education Act, sample programs, the question of language "standards," and studies about program outcomes.…

The status of modern Greek in Australian society and education are detailed in this report. Chapters include discussion of these issues: the history of modern Greek in Australia (Greek immigration and settlement, public and private domains of use, language maintenance and shift, and language quality); the functions of modern Greek in Australia…

Despite limited research due to lack of funding and inadequate program evaluations, enough evidence has accumulated to indicate that quality bilingual programs can meet the goal of providing equal educational opportunity for students from non-English speaking backgrounds. A review of existing research supports this statement. In almost all cases,…

This volume is the further examination of: (1) the impact of the Title VII program, based on student outcome data collected after the publication of Volume One in 1976 and on the continued examination of Volume One data; and (2) educational processes and outcomes found in the Impact Study classrooms. In the first section, a detailed discussion is…